an interview with the District Police Commander in Bolesławiec, Senior Commissioner Stanisław Nowicki.
How does the relationship between the police and the residents of Bolesławiec look against the backdrop of the current transformations?
I cannot imagine the police without society, or society without the police. When we separate a group of people in a certain area and deprive them of the influence of institutions, sooner or later that group will become disorganized.
How, then, do you see the new ways in which the police and society relate to one another?
Everyone must realize that contact between a police officer and a citizen always causes mutual stress. During a traffic stop, a police officer experiences it to no lesser degree than the driver. Perhaps even to a greater degree, because the burden of the law and the service rests on the officer. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to understand this...
What kind of behavior on the part of citizens would ease the stress?
I can demand things of myself and my subordinates, but I think society should be more aware that safety depends on recognizing the scale of the threat—that crime is not an individual matter. The losses affect not only the victim but also, for example, all those whose insurance contributions will cover the losses incurred.
How do you assess the level of awareness among the residents of Bolesławiec?
We are dealing with a plague when it comes to attitudes toward traffic regulations. Recently, the number of driving licences confiscated for driving while intoxicated has doubled. Pedestrians are a separate chapter. Complete carelessness and disregard for dangers. The results are appalling.
And what is the general state of security in the city, considering the current capabilities of the Bolesławiec police?
It is not good, but it is not tragic either. Those whom the “hand of justice” has reached recently could say something about our effectiveness...
Are many residents of Bolesławiec applying for permits to possess gas weapons?
The District Headquarters only collects applications for permits. The Voivodeship Commander makes the decision, but I can say that the residents of Bolesławiec are not arming themselves to any greater extent. Applications are submitted mainly by business owners. There is a certain paradox here: possessing a weapon improves one’s sense of security, but the spread of weapons does not affect the actual state of security. On the contrary, the fact that someone possesses a weapon in a given situation significantly increases the scale of the danger threatening that person.
What factors determine the effectiveness of police work to the greatest extent, and what shortages are most troublesome for the law enforcers of Bolesławiec?
The people are the most important: people who are aware of their duties and perfect in their work. Efficient organization and systematic action are important. And we lack a little of everything. In technical matters, it is a global rule that the police try to keep up with criminals.
What prompts a person to take up the profession of police officer, and is being a police officer simply a profession?
Being a police officer is more than just a profession. It is also service, and a calling. It requires predispositions and instinct, while instinct is a reflexive matter and not always conscious. That is why I speak of a calling.
Thank you for the interview.
fragment of a graphic by M. Żołądzia
Interview by Krzysztof Pachuta.